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Health social workers, like social workers in general, have been found to utilise research knowledge to a low degree. No previous study has made comparisons based on the following: higher education, job tenure and workplace. This article is based on statistical comparisons between 1236 health social workers in Sweden working in various healthcare contexts. The central finding was that higher education was the factor with the largest impact. Workplace and especially job tenure were found to be less influential. An implication for practice is to raise the knowledge requirements in terms of research knowledge utilisation already from bachelor's degree level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the application of evidence-based knowledge and skills in everyday healthcare practice among healthcare personnel attending a course in evidence-based practice (EBP) at the master's level. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, an evaluation of the use of instrumental, conceptual and persuasive research was performed among students attending a master's course in EBP at Lund University. Seven questions from the validated questionnaire in the Longitudinal Analysis of Nursing Education project were used. The questionnaire was distributed among 21 students at the first lecture in the course (the group before the course). Students who had participated in the course 1 (n=15) and 2 (n=13) years earlier received the questionnaire by ordinary mail (the group after the course). Results: The current study revealed that the majority of the students used research in their daily healthcare practice. However, the extent and type of use varied. There were differences in research use between the 'before' and 'after' groups. More specifically, the students in the group responding after the course were significantly more prone to use research in practice than the students responding before the course (P=0.01 and 0.04). Conclusion: An EBP course offered to master's degree students provides enhancement of evidence-based knowledge and skills, and stimulates research use in healthcare practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim This article investigates attitudes towards and awareness of research and use of research findings among primary healthcare nurses, determinants of attitudes and evaluation of psychometric properties of an instrument measuring nurses' attitudes. Background The production of new knowledge is ongoing and the amount of research of relevance for health care has increased, but there remains a gap between what is known and what is done in practice. To enhance evidence-based practice and patient safety, the use of research findings needs to be encouraged and promoted. Method An explanatory study using a cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2005-2006. The survey included items about background data and the instrument attitudes towards and awareness of research and development in nursing. 1054 nurses participated in the study. Factor analyses and Cronbach's alpha were used to evaluate internal structure and internal consistency of the instrument. Result The nurses generally held positive attitudes towards research. Although most of the nurses reported using research in practice, 37% claimed that they never or rarely used research findings. Half of the respondents perceived they had the ability to analyse scientific reports/articles. This ability and research use were significant determinants of attitudes. Factor analysis of the scale resulted in a three-factor solution, which differs from the seven-factor structure previously identified by the originators of the instrument. Conclusion Our results support the view that implementation of research is a complex process involving several factors. The different factor structure identified suggests that further work is needed on this instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physiotherapists are generally positive to evidence-based practice (EBP) and the use of research in clinical practice, yet many still base clinical decisions on knowledge obtained during their initial education and/or personal experience. Our aim was to explore motivations behind physiotherapists' use of research in clinical practice. Self-Determination Theory was applied to identify the different types of motivation for use of research. This theory posits that all behaviours lie along a continuum of relative autonomy, reflecting the extent to which a person endorses their actions. Eleven focus group interviews were conducted, involving 45 physiotherapists in various settings in Sweden. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis and the findings compared with Self-Determination Theory using a deductive approach. Motivations underlying physiotherapists use of research in clinical practice were identified. Most physiotherapists expressed autonomous forms of motivation for research use, but some exhibited more controlled motivation. Several implications about how more evidence-based physiotherapy can be achieved are discussed, including the potential to tailor educational programs on EBP to better account for differences in motivation among participants, using autonomously motivated physiotherapists as change agents and creating favourable conditions to encourage autonomous motivation by way of feelings of competence, autonomy and a sense of relatedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence-based practice has increasingly been recognized as a priority by professional physiotherapy organizations and influential researchers and clinicians in the field. Numerous studies in the past decade have documented that physiotherapists hold generally favorable attitudes to evidence-based practice and recognize the importance of using research to guide their clinical practice. Research has predominantly investigated barriers to research use. Less is known about the circumstances that actually support use of research by physiotherapists. This study explores the conditions at different system levels that physiotherapists in Sweden perceive to be supportive of their use of research in clinical practice. Methods: Patients in Sweden do not need a referral from a physician to consult a physiotherapist and physiotherapists are entitled to choose and perform any assessment and treatment technique they find suitable for each patient. Eleven focus group interviews were conducted with 45 physiotherapists, each lasting between 90 and 110 minutes. An inductive approach was applied, using topics rather than questions to allow the participants to generate their own questions and pursue their own priorities within the framework of the aim. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Analysis of the data yielded nine favorable conditions at three system levels supporting the participant's use of research in clinical practice: two at the individual level (attitudes and motivation concerning research use; research-related knowledge and skills), four at the workplace level (leadership support; organizational culture; research-related resources; knowledge exchange) and three at the extra-organizational level (evidence-based practice guidelines; external meetings, networks, and conferences; academic research and education). Conclusions: Supportive conditions for physiotherapists' use of research exist at multiple interdependent levels, including the individual, workplace, and extra-organizational levels. Research use in physiotherapy appears to be an interactive and interpretative social process that involves a great deal of interaction with various people, including colleagues and patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Title. Research use in clinical practice – extent and patterns among nurses one and three years postgraduation. Aim. This paper is a report of a study of nurses’ research use in clinical practice one and three years postgraduation in Sweden. Background. Internationally, learning to critically appraise and use research is an educational objective within nursing training, with the aim of promoting research use in nursing practice. The extent to which these skills is acquired and used among relatively newly graduated nurses is largely unexplored, however. Method. A descriptive study was conducted in 2006 using a national longitudinal survey of two nursing cohorts one ( n = 1,365) and three ( n = 933) years postgraduation. The self-reported extent of instrumental, conceptual and persuasive research use was measured. Data were analysed using both variable- and pattern-oriented approaches based on cluster analysis. Results. Research use was reported to occur in about half or fewer of the working shifts. In both samples, seven clusters of nurses with different research use profiles were identified. Clusters representing overall low and very low users in all three types of research use were predominant both at one (45·6%) and three (51·6%) years postgraduation, whereas clusters of nurses reporting overall high research use were uncommon. The proportion of very low users was larger 3 years after graduation than 1 year after graduation. Conclusions. The low extent of reported research use, raises the question of whether scientific perspectives included in nursing education are translated into clinical application. The pattern-oriented approach illustrates the complexity of research use and identification of typical research use profiles in specific contexts may have potential to guide interventions aimed at supporting evidence-based practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One strategy to enhance research use and change current practice is to identify barriers and then implement tailored interventions to reduce these barriers. In nursing, the BARRIERS scale has been frequently used to identify nurses' perceptions of barriers to research utilization. However, this scale has not been applied to care of older people, and only one study has investigated how identified barriers link to research utilization. Therefore, the purpose of this study was twofold: to describe RNs' perceptions of barriers to and facilitators of research utilization and to examine the validity of the BARRIERS scale in relation to research use. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used and registered nurses (RNs) working in the care of older people participated (response rate 67%, n = 140/210). Two questionnaires, the BARRIERS scale and the Research Utilization Questionnaire (RUQ), were used. Data were analyzed using descriptive and bivariate inferential statistics. Results: Characteristics of the organization and the presentation of research findings were rated as the most prominent barriers. The three items most frequently reported as barriers were: the nurse is isolated from knowledgeable colleagues with whom to discuss the research (89%); the facilities are inadequate for implementation (88%); and, the relevant literature is not compiled in one place (81%). Surveyed RNs suggested more support from unit managers and better availability of user-friendly reports in Swedish to enhance research use. The RNs reported a modest use of research. A weak but significant correlation was found between the Research Use index in RUQ and the Presentation subscale in the BARRIERS scale (r = -0.289, p < 0.01), suggesting that the RNs reporting more research use were less likely to perceive presentation of research as a barrier. Dividing the sample into research users (n = 29) and non-research users (n = 105), the research users rated significantly lower on the subscales Presentation, Nurse and Research in the BARRIERS scale. Conclusion: The BARRIERS scale revealed differences in the perception of barriers between research users and non-research users. Thus, methodologically the scale appears useful in identifying some types of barriers to research utilization but not organizational barriers. The identified barriers, however, are general and wide-ranging, making it difficult to design useful specific interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]